Circular Economy

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy means using fewer materials, keeping products in use for longer, repairing and reusing more, and disposing of waste responsibly.

Why Scotland’s consumption is unsustainable

We are locked in a throwaway society, where the products are often single use, poor quality and cannot be recycled. As consumers, it can be impossible to do the right thing when every product choice exploits the world’s poorest and destroys nature.  

Big businesses increase their profits by selling more stuff but their exploitation is pushing people and the planet beyond breaking point. 

What does a circular economy look like?

A better way is possible. In Scotland, we must use much less resources, but this doesn’t mean our quality of life will be reduced. In fact, a system which uses less materials can improve the way people live: 

• Products will last for longer, 

• There will be less rubbish and litter and  

• Greater investment in public services, like buses and trains, which use less resources overall than cars. 

What needs to change?

The current system is designed to make the rich richer, but we can change this and create a better future for everyone. Government must act on those parts of the system that are most broken, such as: 

• Holding corporations to account for their wasteful practices 

• Putting people’s wellbeing before economy growth 

• Stopping human rights abuses and environmental damage in supply chains 

What we are doing

We work with local communities across Scotland who are concerned about incinerator developments, plastic pollution, extractive mining and other concerns about the way materials are used. 

We also work with other groups to influence decision makers on how to transform the way materials are used for good. We call for the changes needed to create a circular economy in Scotland. 

We show how material use in Scotland affects people across the world, by amplifying the voices of our international network. 

What Friends of the Earth Scotland has helped achieve

• We have worked with people across Scotland to halt and slow the development of waste incinerators, raise awareness of local plastic pollution issues and highlighted concerns around mining exploration projects in Scotland. 

• In 2024, MSPs unanimously voted for a new circular economy law for Scotland, which we campaigned for. This law gives the Scottish Government the powers it needs to create a circular economy in Scotland. 

• We called for a review of the Scottish Government’s failure to reduce incineration which led to Scotland’s environmental watchdog  putting the Government on notice for its lack of action.  

• Working with allies from the global south and others, we successfully campaigned for Scotland’s new circular economy strategy to include a goal that Scotland should have sustainable material use by 2045. 

What you can do today

• Become a member of Friends of the Earth Scotland and get stuck into our campaigning for a circular economy.
• Have a read of our Resource Justice Plan for Scotland, which looks at how to build a thriving movement to fight for a future where materials and products are used fairly and sustainably.
• Sign up to our quarterly Resource Justice Newsletter to be part of the conversation.

Stopping incineration

Incinerators contribute to climate change by emitting greenhouse gases from the waste they burn. They also make it more difficult to ensure potentially recyclable material is not wasted instead. We've achieved a moratorium on incineration which is a vital first step, but it must now be backed up with a planned phase out of existing incinerators.

Learn more

Scotland has the materials, skills and demand to make this circular narrative a reality. We need a government willing to take bold steps towards a circular economy.

Kim Pratt, Circular Economy Campaigner